’14 SG Justin Jackson drawing elite interest

Class of 2014 small forward Justin Jackson is still very early in the recruiting process, but he’s already received several offers and new interest from some of the top programs in the country.

“I don’t have a list, but I’m interested in all of the schools who are interested in me,” Jackson told NRS. “I have offers from Georgetown, Texas A&M, Texas, Baylor, Ohio State, Washington, Virginia, Virginia Tech and then North Carolina, Duke, Kansas, Stanford and Florida have started recruiting me.”

Jackson has already visited a couple of the schools who have offered him and one program that recently started showing interest.

“I’ve visited North Carolina, Ohio State and Texas,” Jackson said. “We had a tournament during the school season in Ohio and it was close to Columbus so we took one there. With North Carolina, we were off for a while and Texas was pretty much the same thing.”

The North Carolina visit was a little more special than the other ones for Jackson since he and his family are Tar Heel fans.

“Growing up, [my family] liked North Carolina,” Jackson said, “that was just the team we enjoyed watching. Once they started recruiting me, we still liked them but they weren’t the team we would always cheer for anymore. It doesn’t really affect my recruitment.”

One thing that helps Jackson in the recruiting process is that he knows what he’s looking for in a school.

“Obviously a good basketball program, I have to feel close with the coaching staff and tradition is important,” Jackson said. “A system that’s more pass and cut and not really off the dribble. I’ll be fine with going to any system though. I feel like I could go to any school or system and fit in.”

Jackson says he plans on committing to a school after his junior AAU season.

*Editor’s Note: In an earlier version of this article, it left out his recent interest from Florida and Stanford (Updated 4/18/12).